Mobile wall unit



July 3, 1956 F. ROBERTSON MOBILE WALL UNIT 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 30, 1952 w FIG.2

IN VENTOR FRANK ROBERTSON .L .sv

ATTORNEYS July 3, 1956 F. ROBERTSON MOBILE WALL UNIT 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 30, 1952 FEG.3

INVENTOR FRANK ROBERTSQN BY %W f J/ZZ/90/gm1 ATTORNEYS July 3, 1956 F. ROBERTSON MOBILE WALL UNIT 2 w T 3 fiw A t H J ,H 7 ,4 m L mu 8 a h 6 4 m WW ru 7 Z N Pm, 7 m IICIJJ. fl r! 4 a J k l E Z w ML a q, 6 gv may ##J .13 w t a e m ATTORNEYS July 3, 1956 F. ROBERTSON 2,752,641

MOBILE WALL. UNIT Filed Sept. 50, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENT OR mam aoasmsow ATTORNEYS United States Patent vpartition units include a section in the nature of a cabinet providing storage facilities.

In order to better appreciate the'environment of this invention and the art to which it relates may be pointed' tearing down the permanent walls or partitions and then or partitions at the new places which will give the new arrangement of roorns desired. This, of course, is a very expensive and time-consuming .pro-

changed either by changing the lay-out of the rooms. twenty-five year history of the average family with children, the home first may have few. size.

for the individual child, boy or Then when the chil-- dren are grown and are no longer it is frequently desired to convert occupants of the home, back to more spacious the arrangement to for dividing floor space in houses into re-arrangeable number of rooms.

Another object of this invention is to provide nonpermanently installable wall or partition units which may be juxtaposed with other like or different wall or parti-' tion units to form a non-permanently installed wall or partition for dividing floor space in houses into re-arrangeable room lay-outs both as to size of rooms and number of rooms.

2,752,641 Patented July 3, 1956 rigid contact against the ceiling over the into firm and floor space.

Another object of this invention is to provide wall or partition units of the character stated and which are the floor selectively. A further object of this invention is to provide a mobile: wall unit of A specific object of the present invention is to provide a mobile wall or partition unit of the character stated and in which the structure is improved and simplified in many casters.

Other specific objects ofthis invention obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter. In accordance with the invention disclosed in this and.

rooms and arrangements movable wall or partition will be in partvarious numbers and sizes of of rooms. In order to makev this economically feasible, the invention consists of a, section so constructed that the I with adjustable bases and tops, as well as with adjustable slip moulds whereby the units can be re-arranged to place the wall or partition where it is desired to be without marring or mutilating the walls, ceilingsor floors or even having an attachment thereto. At the same time the units are so constructed that when they have been moved to the desired place they can be expanded vertically so that they will have firm and steady contact with the floor and also with the ceiling and the slip moulds can be adjusted to cover any space that might be present between two adjacent units. Preferably the mobile wall units are in the form of cabinets having such depth and width as desired for ample storage space.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangements of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter and the scope of the application of which will be pointed out in the claims that follow.

In order that a clearer understanding of this invention may be had, attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application and illustrating certain possible embodiments of this invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a mobile wall cabinet unit embodying this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a top view thereof;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view thereof and is taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. l, and showing the cabinet section lowered and resting on its casters and the cabinet rest raised out of contact with the floor;

Fig. 5 is a similar view but of only a fragment of the lower portion of the unit and shows the cabinet and the casters elevated and the cabinet rest lowered to the floor and supporting the elevated cabinet section and casters;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view of the unit and is taken on the line 66 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view partly in section of one form of jack means for raising and lowering the cabinet section;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 showing a possible modification of the jack means;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view partly in section showing the construction at an upper front corner of the unit;

Fig. 10 is a horizontal sectional view through an edge of the cabinet section and is taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view partly in section of the means for adjustably anchoring a slip mould to the cabinet section; and

Figs. 12, 13, 14 and are respectively diagrammatic views showing different adjustments of the slip mould relatively to the cabinet section of the wall unit, Fig. 12 showing the slip m'ould undisplaced either vertically or horizontally, Fig. 13 showing the slip mould displaced horizontally but not vertically, Fig. 14 showing the slip mould displaced vertically but not horizontally and Fig. 15 showing the slip mould displaced both horizontally and vertically.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings the expansible mobile wall unit includes a cabinet section having a back panel 40, side panels 41 and 42, a stationary top frame 43 having cross bracing 44 and corner backing 4'5 and carrying a top panel 46. This cabinet section also has a bottom panel 47 above which a sill 48 extends across the front of the cabinet section and supports a panel 49 providing a space for a drawer 50 between the sill 48 and panel 49 and the bottom panel 47 of the section. At the front of the cabinet on each side are door jamb rails 51 for sliding doors 52 which may be of the show case type and are slidably supported by and between the upper panel 46 and the sill 48.

To the derside of bottom panel 47 of the cabinet moved about and section are fixed two spaced reinforcing strips 53 which are provided with casters 54. Also beneath the cabinet section is a frame 55 constituting a base or rest for the cabinet section. This cabinet base or rest 55 is connected to the cabinet section by means of jack bolts 56 which extend through the bottom panel 47 of the cabinet and have nuts 57 pinned thereto beneath the panel 47 preventing the bolts from being raised upwardly through the panel 47. Below the nuts 57 the bolts extend through threaded apertures in screw plates 58 which are mortised into and fastened to the cabinet rest or base 55 which is provided with recesses 59 into which the lower ends of the bolts 56 extend. As shown in Figs. 4 and 7 the bolts 56 may have their heads 60 exposed above the panel 47 and adjacent thereto so as to be accessible for the turning of the bolts in the screw plates 58 to raise and lower the cabinet section and the cabinet rest 55 relatively to each other. However, if desired, and as shown in Fig. 8, longer jack bolts 56' may be provided and have their heads 60 exposed above the cabinet section panel the bolts being locatedbetween the sides of the drawer 50 andthe side panels of the cabinet section. The shorter jack bolts 56 become accessible for manipulation when the drawer 50 is removed. The longer jack bolts 56' become accessible for manipulation upon opening the doors 52.

Not only are means provided for raising and lowering the cabinet section relatively to the floor but means are also provided for expanding the cabinet vertically at its top to insure firm contact with the ceiling. Also adjustable slip moulds are provided on the front "and back of the cabinet on both sides and which can be projected horizontally to cover any space that may be present between two wall units placed side by side or between a unit-and-an adjacent wall. Preferably the slip moulds are also adjustable vertically and are so connected with an adjustable upper frame of the cabinet section that by adjusting the slip moulds vertically the adjustable upper frame of the cabinet may be moved upwardly into firm contact with the ceiling or lowered to be out of contact with the ceiling when it is desired to move the unit to another location.

As shown the adjustable upper part of the cabinet includes an adjustable frame consisting of front and rear pieces 62 and'side pieces 63 and which surrounds and slidably overlaps the stationary frame 43. This frame is supported by the upper ends of four slip moulds 64, two .on the front of the cabinet and two on the rear at the side edges there'of. The upper ends of the slip moulds have a mortise 65 cut in the back and the ends of the adjustable frame members 62 are shaped to fit into these mortises so that the adjustable frame may be raised and lowered by raising or lowering the slip moulds while allowing the slip moulds to be moved sidewise in and out relatively to the adjustable frame and cabinet in all vertically adjusted positions of the slip moulds and the adjustable frame carried thereby.

Concealed means are provided for holding the slip moulds 64 to the cabinet for both horizontal and vertical adjustment thereon. These concealed means for adjustably anchoring the slip moulds to the front of the cabinet are shown best in Figs. 10 and 11. As will be seen a vertical slot 66 has been cut through each jamb rail 51 and oppositeto this slot 66 a horizontal slot 67 is cut into'the back of but not through the slip mould 64 and eye bolt 68- is inserted through the vertical slot 66 in the cabinet jamb with-the eye 69 of the bolt 68 projecting into the recess 67 'of the slip mould and retained therein by means of a retaining pin 70. At the other end of the bolt there is a washer 71 and wing nut 72, which, when tightened, holds the slip mould 64 securely against thejamb 51. At the rear of the'cabinet where normally there are no jamb rails, and slots corresponding to: the vertical slots 66iformed'in' the jamb rails 51 may be formed-directly inthe-rear panel 40of the cabinet and of 1 course shorter eye bolts provided with wing nuts may be hold and at the same time subject to change-by the occu-, used. However, if desired, the cabinet may be provided pant of the house into an entirely different arrangement with rear corner posts (not shown) and the vertical slots of the house without expense incident in moving a wall for the eye bolts provided in these posts. or closet section inherent in present day construction.

Thus it is apparent that by loosening the nuts of the It is also apparent that the construction is simple and eye bolts and raising the four slip moulds the adjustable attractive in appearance and that the mechanism involved frame at the top of the cabinet may be raised to fit snugly is simple, sturdy and durable and easy to manipulate. against the ceiling over the unit and then the nuts tightened As many changes could be made in the above construcone of the slip moulds may be extended sidewise from 10 invention could be made without departing from the the cabinet to cover any space between two ad acent units scope thereof 1t 1s understood that all matter contained or between the umt and an ad acent wall by merely in the above description and shown 1n the accompanying loosening the wing nuts of the bolts connected to that drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitas far as necessary or desired and then tightening the nuts What is. claimed is:

to hold the slip mould in that horizontally adjusted posi- 1. Selectively mobile floor space partitioning construction. Various possible positions of adjustment of the slip tion of the character described, comprising in combinamoulds are shown diagrammatically in Figs. 12 to 15 intion, a plurality of individual partition unitsassembled elusive, Fig. 12 showing the slip mould 64 not displaced in contiguous side by side relationship to form a comfrom the adjustable frame 62 either vertically or hori- 0 posite partition across afloor space, each of said units zontally, Fig. 13 showing the slip mould extended horiincluding roller means whereby the unit is supportable zontally beyond the side of the adjustable frame 62 and to be moved easily from place to place each unit inthe cabinet, Fig. 14 showing the slip mould 64 raised eluding restraining means adjustable into firm contact and the adjustable frame 62 raised therewith, but not with a ceiling above the unit to hold the unit from being displaced horizontally, and Fig. 15 showing the slip mould moved about and adjustable to be out of contact with flhd the adjustable frame raised relatively to the said ceiling to free the unit for being moved about, each cabinet and the slip mould 64 extended Si e iS 0 the said unit having slip molds at its vertical edges connected frame 62 and the cabinet. with said restraining means and means mounting said slip When the mobile Wall unit is t h moved from One molds on the unit to be displaceable outwardly of the location to another The l hoits 56 screwed unit into position masking a space between two sidewise down into the cabinet rest 55 which lowers the cabinet dj t it or between th u it a d a adja ent wall, Se a Casters 54 relatively to the Cabinet rest 55 and vertically with said restraining means to force said until the casters 54 contact the floor and then further t i i means i t fi t t ith th ce hng turning of the l belts in the same direction draws the 2. Selectively mobile floor space partitioning construccabinet rest up from thfi flODr and tOWal'd thfi Cablllet tion of the haracter desc bed ompris ng 1n comblnaseetleh- The p moulds 64 if in elevated adjustment are tion, a plurality of individual partition UJIIIl'S assembled lowered to lower the adjustable top frame of the cabinet in contiguous i b i relationship to f r a and also if extended horizontally are moved in to decrease posite titi across a floor a a h of aid unit he ra l Width of the Uhit- 111 this adjustment since including roller means whereby the unit is supportable the mobile Wail unit is supported entirely by the Casters 40 to be moved easily from place to place and each unit in- 54 with the top of the cabinet out of contact with the l di upper d lower restraining means i di id ll ceiling and the cabinet rest out of contact with the floor dj bl i fi t t ith a ili above th the tlhit y he moved from one location to another unit and with the floor under the unit respectively to hold readily and easily and Without much the unit from being moved about and ad ustable to be n the Unit has been moved to the desired location 40 out of contact with the ceiling and floor to free the unit and it is desired t0 anchor the unit in place the jack SCIEWS for being mgved about sa d lower restra n ng means 56 8116 turned ll]. the OPPOSllS direction \VlllCl'l Will result comprising a frame urround ng and concealing 531d rgller first in lowering the cabinet rest into contact with the means h i l d position d bl t raise th floor and then further turning of the jack screws will entire i d ll means ff th fl elevate the cabinet section together with the casters 54 5O A bil ll unit f the character described i from h C n rest 55 and upwardly from the fioereluding a cabinet section equipped with casters and having The slip moulds 64 are then raised if necessary to move a tatwna y upper frame, an ad ustable frame telesc0p h l ie p frame of the Cabinet into him Contact cally related to the stationary frame to be elevated and i the eelhhg- I11 this adjustment the casters 54 are 55 lowered relatively thereto, shp moulds at the four corners raised H0111 and out of Contact h the g the of the cabinet, means engaging the cabinet and the slip unit is supported entirely by the Cabinet Test he thr moulds mountmg said slip moulds for vertical ad ustment justed horizontally to cover any space that may exist The mobile wall units embodying this invention may adjustable frame he released easily from ligid Position 011 the floor and 5. A mobile wall unit as set forth in claim 4 and in y be easily released from rigid Contact with the ceiling, which the slip moulds have mortises and said adjustable and moved from one location to another and assembled frame having members seating in said mortises.

quickly, easily and without much effort, and without the 6. A mobile wall unit of the character described incutting or the mutilation of floors, ceiling or permanent eluding a cabinet equipped with casters and having a walls and when in place are sufiiciently well anchored for stationary upper frame including slip molds, an adjustall purposes of partitions or storage in the average houseable frame telescopically related to the stationary frame to be elevated and lowered relatively thereto, means 1,139,667 mounting said slip moulds for vertical and horizontal 2,090,690 adjustment on the cabinet, said means including cabinet 2,113,995 parts having vertical slots, the moulds having horizontal 2,299,688 slots, retaining pins in said horizontal slots and eye bolts 5 2,340,323 having their eyes in the horizontal slots and engaged by 2,671,697 said retaining pins, said bolts at their other ends having nuts bearing against said cabinet parts whereby said bolts 472 836 may be raised and lowered in said vertical slots to raise and lower the slip moulds relatively to the cabinet and may be adjusted in said horizontal slots to adjust said slip moulds horizontally relatively to the cabinet, said slip moulds and adjustable frame interengaging whereby raising and lowering the slip moulds raises and lowers the adjustable frame and permitting horizontaladjustment of the slip moulds relatively to the adjustable frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 856,198 Adams June 11, 1907 8 Gerber May 18, 1915 Matanovich Aug. 24, 1937 Salvage Apr. 12, 1938 Ferris Oct. 20, 1942 Groeniger Feb. 1, 1944 North Mar. 9, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany June 3, 1929 OTHER REFERENCES The Architectural Forum, September 1942, pages 141 and 142;

and 91. 

